


Ink

by Freedoms_Champion



Series: Generally Unrelated Marauders [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Severus doesn't like anyone, expect Remus slightly, making the Maruaders Map, unwilling team-up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:48:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 980
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24580102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Freedoms_Champion/pseuds/Freedoms_Champion
Summary: Severus knows Potter and his gang are up to no good, but they were desperate enough to come to him for help. If they need him enough to say something nice, he can give them a little help.For the right price.
Series: Generally Unrelated Marauders [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765465
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Ink

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy it.  
> Once again, there is no character bashing going on here. Severus just doesn't like the Marauders.  
> Still, if they need him, he's curious enough to play along.  
> This takes place in third year.

“Hey, Snape, do you have a moment?”

Severus looked up from his Potions textbook, where he was furiously annotating an incorrect instruction, and scowled at Lupin.

“No, go away before your stupid friends show up,” he snapped.

Lupin looked uncomfortable.

“They won’t, they know better,” he said. “Look, I need to ask you a favor.”

Severus looked up again, taken aback.

“A favor? You’re decent, Lupin, but I will never do a favor for Potter and Black. Unless this is just for you, I’m not doing it.”

Lupin shuffled his feet, wrinkling his nose in thought.

“I can’t lie, it is for all of us. But, will you please just hear me out?”

Severus wanted to refuse point-blank, but Lupin really was better than the others. Refusing to lie even though Potter and Black would nag him for it later was impressive. Severus knew how desperately Lupin wanted his friends to keep liking him, though he still wasn’t sure why.

“Fine, spit it out.”

“We need a special kind of ink and you’re the best Potions brewer in the whole school,” Lupin said in a rush. He always looked tired and pale, but he turned a bit red after it was out.

Severus toyed with his quill, pretending to think it over. His mind was already made up from sheer curiosity. There was no way Potter and Black would let Lupin say something nice to him if they had any other options.

Besides, why would they need the best Potions brewer in the school to make ink?

“I’m not going to do it for free,” he said finally. “Let’s meet the idiots and talk about what they’re going to do for me.”

Black looked furious.

“Just consider yourself lucky you get to be included, Snivellus,” he snarled, but Lupin grabbed his shoulder and prevented him from doing anything else.

Severus spared him a cool glance before returning a level stare to Potter. However loud Black was, Potter was the real leader of the little gang and Severus knew better than to stop staring down the leader.

Potter ruffled his messy black hair, a motion he did so often Severus was convinced he didn’t do it on purpose anymore.

“I guess we could pay you something,” he said finally. Severus avoided showing any signs of triumph, this was the tricky bit. He didn’t care about money, even if Potter and Black had enough to spare. This might be his only chance to make Potter feel as humiliated as they had made him, and Severus wasn’t going to waste it.

“Hopefully, you plan to offer me something more valuable than money,” he said loftily.

Black tossed a mess of long hair out of his eyes and scowled.

“We’re asking you to make ink, not the blood Philosopher’s Stone, Snape. What could you possibly want?”

Severus pretended to think, mockingly tapping a finger on his chin.

“Well, no doubt making the ink is going to take a lot of time,” he said, drawing it out to irritate them. It was dangerous, though. Black might never think of resorting to physical violence, but Potter wasn’t above giving him a thump when he was particularly upset.

“How about, one of you does what I say for as long as it takes?”

“No way! You’ll order us to break the rules to get us in trouble,” Black burst out. “Don’t think we’re stupid enough to fall for that.”

“Done,” Potter declared. “I’ll do it, as long as it doesn’t put me or the others in danger.”

Severus stared at him for a little longer, but he couldn’t find a lie in Potter’s eyes. He was good at knowing when he was being lied to, which came in handy when Lily’s muggle sister had been picking on them.

“I’ll accept that,” he said, without offering to shake Potter’s hand. “What kind of ink do you want?”

After two weeks, Severus had to admit he’d come up with a good plan. True, he didn’t have Potter at his beck and call as much as he wanted, but it was gratifying to see him stew when they were together. He hadn’t stooped to making Potter do his classwork for him, mostly because the only class they had together was Potions and there was no way he’d let the idiot mess up his grade, but it was satisfying to dump his bag on Potter at every opportunity.

He had to resist the urge to cackle every time Black gritted his teeth at something he made Potter do, too, since the others still hung around whenever they could. He’d explained the deal to Lily, without mentioning what he was doing for them, and she’d offered a few additional perfectly harmless but humiliating ideas of her own.

It was for the best he was having a bit of fun, because the ink was incredibly difficult to make. Severus wasn’t sure what they needed it for, but it had to be complicated. Far too complicated for a trio of thirteen-year-old wizards and their friend who got snacks.

He’d had to look though several moldy Potions books just to get an idea how to make an ink that would turn invisible on command, could adapt to charms that would rearrange whatever was drawn in the ink, flow on the paper rather than drying completely, and never fade with age.

Severus prided himself on being a Potions genius, but it took him almost three months to brew a cauldron of the stuff to the specifications he’d been given and his own satisfaction. By then, ordering Potter around had gotten boring and he just wanted to wash his hands of the whole situation.

Of course, once he turned the ink over to Potter and Black, he still had to wonder what they wanted it for.

Severus had a feeling they didn’t want it for anything good.


End file.
